If you use mono mixes it should be possible to double the mixes! So I can use maybe 8 mono + 8 stereo mixes!
„Soft 7“ and „Soft 8“ could be used to switch between Bank A mix 1 - 12 and Bank B mix 13 - 24
Best regards
ROBBY
To much komplicated.
The mixes are fine. If you want more mixes then 12 buy a larger bord.
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This is a good idea, I agree. Processing is not more significant, developers can confirm this. It could work that e.g. if AUX1 is split into two mono buttons, the first button press would light up blue, the second button press would light up red. And that’s two separate mono AUX. For example AUX1A and AUX1B.
I suspect the added processing needed to run two mono busses vs one stereo buss is actually pretty significant. That is because a lot of the stereo buss processing is actually mono in nature. For example, there aren’t two independent compressors on a stereo buss - one on each channel. But that is exactly what would be required for a pair of mono busses.
A stereo compressor has to process the two channels in the same way as two mono compressors, there is no difference. The only thing that needs to be doubled is the generation of the control signal, but I don’t think that this is so much extra processing that it can’t fit in the FPGA. At least for a simple compressor algorithm. Obviously a more sophisticated algorithm would require more resources. EQ clearly requires the same amount of resources, since it has to be computed per mono signal anyway.
Alternatively, many people would agree that if you use two monos instead of one stereo, you can just use a simpler RMS/Peak compressor/limiter.
If it was a true stereo compressor, you would be right. But much of the “stereo” processing on A&H consoles is really just double mono (ie a single mono instance that is duplicated on both channels) - including but not limited to FX racks.
Even on the DLive and Avantis most things are double mono. While I have never actually tested this on the SQ myself, I can assure you it works the same way. The SQ is not getting better processing that the higher end consoles do.
PS - The DLive finally got some real “stereo” FX with the addition of the RackUltra FX card, but only has double mono on the main system.
I don’t understand what you mean by “True stereo compressor”. I have dealt with DSP (and FPGA) programming, a compressor consists of two parts:
- generating a control signal (from input signal or sidechain)
- applying the gain of the signal stream based on the control signal
Point 2) is always simple, a simple multiplication on the signal stream, always done per channel, no difference between dual mono and stereo mode.
In stereo compression, the control signal is always generated by combining the two channels, whereas in dual mono mode, an independent control signal must be generated for the two channels. So the fact is that in dual mono mode, for a more serious algorithm, double the capacitance is needed for the control.
That’s why I wrote that in dual mono mode it would be an acceptable compromise to allow only “simple” RMS/Peak compressors, while in stereo even more serious algorithms could be used.
Again, you are approaching this with the idea that A&H has created a system where compressor, FX, gates, etc all work on a “one instance per buss” basis. If this is true, then a compressor on a stereo buss (which uses two busses) has the same processing requirements as a compressor on two mono busses (which also uses two busses) because there is a independent compressor on both channels of the stereo buss.
Unfortunately, this is generally not what A&H has created… You need to change your assumptions on how the system works before you will understand what I am saying.
For example, there is likely only a single “instance” of compression on a stereo buss and not one “instance” per channel of the stereo buss. When the threshold of either channel of the stereo buss is exceeded, the compressor will work equally on both channels. This requires a lot less processing power than having two compressors work independently on both busses of a stereo channel (or two mono busses).
Again, I actually haven’t tested this on an SQ to be able to say with 100% certainty that this is how it works on that system, but it is consistent with how A&H had handled their other consoles and therefore I believe this to be the case with the SQ as well. It would be easy enough to test this yourself (I don’t have access to a SQ to do it myself).
If my hypothesis holds up, then it clearly shows why A&H can’t simply allow users to choose between stereo and dual mono busses because the processing power required for dual mono busses would be nearly double that of a single stereo buss and the device likely doesn’t have the additional processing headroom needed to make this work.
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We are practically at the same point, but from a different approach. 
Only the developers would be able to tell us the real capacity requirements and whether it fits into the brain of mixer.
Unfortunately, I have a feeling that the manufacturer will not be competing with itself, if someone needs more than 12 auxiliary buses (monitors), they will be advised to use Avantis or additionally ME system.
No we are not…
I agree with you 
Have a nice day!